ChessE4

By acquire I meant build or purchase. I wouldn't sell leadership short. They will do whatever makes business sense.

On 6/23/2025 at 4:28 PM, Jeanne L said:

Hi Cindy,

Did you end up doing the downtown sights and beach break excursion in St. Thomas? If so, was curious what you thought of it?
We are sailing in 2 weeks and am trying to decide what to do.
Thank you,

Jeanne

We are doing a Magens Bay combo excursion which is given good reviews by vloggers.

I expect older ships to last and itinerary changes to optimize the fleet as ships are replaced.  If Royal continues to grow, I believe they will acquire the vessels they need, even if pre-owned.

3 hours ago, USFFrank said:

This happens on lots of cruises for diamonds and above

Remember, starting at diamond your first 4 drinks of choice (I believe up to $15.00?) are free each day.

They want to get more money out of the diamonds and above.

On the Serenade it was still $14 for wine.

I am more impressed that my TA knows more than I, even if she doesn't know everything. Example: Agent advised paying more for direct flight to London a day early, but I insisted on a cheaper arrangement to save $1000. Wouldn't you know, the flight was delayed, the train we were booked, broke down, and we barely made our connection (only because of connecting flight delay). I regret not following our TA's advice. This was a TA we met in person and with whom we had a good relationship. She wasn't perfect, but she was very good.

We had one on Vision JS 3 years ago, sister ship. As far as I can remember, every ship has had a cooler.

3 hours ago, Rory said:

That is great to hear! We sail on Serenade in August! What was the earliest check in time for your sailing? Did you drop off luggage in the parking garage or at the RC check in? 

We had 11am checkin but arrived 1030 after walking 5 blocks from hotel. Others arrived by cab, etc. Everyone at Pan Pacific Hotel/Canada Place was told to walk their bags down the pier to a large hall where went down an escalator.  We dropped of bags with porters and then queued for security. Multiple ships were in port so lines were split by carrier. We got to muster station 1115 and then headed to Windjammer which actually opened 10 minutes early.

It was 10 pm on day 6 on Serenade late May.

16 hours ago, Dad2Cue said:

"In addition, should you need to cancel for "any other reason" you may be eligible for credit toward a future cruise - up to 90% of the non-refundable, prepaid cruise vacation cost."

----------------------

Aside from the vague language ... the cost for this travel protection seems better than paying the extra cost for booking a refundable cruise.  The cost of booking a refundable cruise is prohibitive.  I would like to hear what others think.

Now we go nonrefundable unless our TA gets a group rate that is refundable. The group rate beats Royal's cheapest rate for same cabin type.

Noise levels for music indoors? That's been my issue in the past.

39 minutes ago, Ryan79 said:

@ChessE4 Adventure isn’t an oasis class, so you have nothing to worry about. Adventure is Voyager class which is easily able to dock in San Juan. 

Yes, I know it is Voyager class. Thanks for confirming it is unaffected by pier issues.

5 hours ago, Sludog said:

I find it unbelievable that this dock has not been repaired yet. 14 months and counting. If they're waiting for the courts to decide responsibility could be another year or more before actual repairs begin. Well be there in August but pretty sure Adventure of the seas is small enough to fit there. 

We are sailing Adventure in February and haven't been told of itinerary change, so I think you're right.

We get frequent upselling emails, weekly or every two weeks then usually something about port arrival just before we sail. Our TA sends invoices or payoff reminders. As stated, the App gives us schedule details.

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Live blogs do tend to end up being ship reviews.

They can be a bit tedious to scroll through for information.

I, for one, can't say enough about the great crew on Serenade during our Memorial Day weekend cruise from Vancouver. If only they'd replace the missing chess pieces on deck 6 aft tables!

We save 450 per 7 night cruise on Royal with drink vouchers and internet. So Carnival would need to be that much cheaper on desired itinerary to be competitive. If Royal reduced benefits, I'd be disappointed, but it would depend on the total price of the cruise.

It depends whether you are flying and on a budget. Recently I've had wheel problems on otherwise durable suitcases. They can be used if we are driving to a port where little schlepping around is required. On a budget I'd by a new set and figure they all won't go bad. Most suitcases seem to carry at least five year warranty. Bright colors are useful. If budget not an issue, others have pet brands with special features.

4 hours ago, Doug_Texas said:

I’m fed up with U.S. tipping, it’s ridiculous.  I’ve always been a generous tipper but am frugal and sail in interior cabins.  Daily gratuities are up 27% since COVID ($14.50 to $18.50).  Stateroom servicing of rooms went from twice a day to once a day (which is no problem).  On a 7 night sailing we pay $259 for daily gratuities, another $60 for 3 nights specialty dining gratuities, another $176 of tab included alcohol gratuities, and about $80 in $1 bills for each alcoholic beverage we order.  That’s $575 in gratuities which is about 28% of our normal cruise fare.  And the appreciation for this is the insulting “Tip Tip Hooray” envelopes left in our stateroom as if no gratuities have been paid at all (a practice NCL doesn’t do). 

I don’t like to be the grumpy poster but we just had an 80’ cedar fence section replaced.  I got 3 quotes from professional companies and went with one that cost $4,200.  When they finished the work I had to approve the job on my phone to charge my credit card and the approval asked if I wanted to tip 18%, 20%, or 22% for the workers.  Yep, they wanted an extra $840 at the end as a gratuity.

When I go to a pro sporting event and stand in a concession line for 10 minutes to get my wife and I two $12.50 beers they spin the display wanting a $5 tip for grabbing two beers from the cooler behind them.

Aussies are right, Americans are stupid.

Your frustration with the software that asks for unnecessary tips is understandable. Simply decline. I've had cashiers at take-out places reach over and decline for me. No worries. We aren't stupid all the time! Cruise crew are generally not overtipped, from what I have read.

4 hours ago, HeatherP said:

First time going to this port.  What is there to do within walking distance?

In the gated port area there are authentic handmade items, but expect to bargain. Don't wander outside the gate.

8 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Thanks for this info.  Do you know whether or not there is a suites/Pinnacle line for getting into the terminal ?

I saw a sign, I think before luggage drop but maybe later. With multiple ships, they first separated passengers by cruise lines. Otherwise, bags would get lost. I don't remember more than one line to enter the building itself. You need to wheel your bags a bit before entering the large hall.

We just completed a cruise out of Vancouver, and I wanted to point out that no one at Canada Place looked at checkin times. We arrived at 1035 with a 1100 checkin time I obtained at 3 am Eastern time. So even though I put in the extra effort, it didn't matter Memorial Day weekend. Canada Place moved everyone through quickly, at least until we hit security.

If your TA is giving you a voucher, as we received in cruise docs, you likely need to explain that on the ship. We found that crew needed a minute to deal with it as we made reservations day 1.

We tipped porters in Barcelona, as well as cab driver. We tipped guides in Italy, which typically had long excursions. Not sure what the book answer is. 

Use ATM at a bank in Europe to get needed Euros. To tip meals, we round up a little.

2 hours ago, Jaime22 said:

Hi Everyone,

I just booked a cruise and would like to purchase travel insurance.  I'm looking for a company that provides excellent coverage for cruisers.  Does anyone have any suggestions? 

 

Thanks so much!

Jaime

This blog has other posts that list web clearinghouse, Matt's videos, travel agent recommendations, etc. But decide what you need first. Age and benefit levels drive premiums.